1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remote controller suitable for transmitting, for example, a control signal to a light receiving section provided in an electronic equipment of a television receiver, and a remote control method applicable to the remote controller.
2. Description of Related Art
In the past, a remote controller that transmits a control signal using infrared rays has been used to remotely control video equipment such as a television receiver, and audio equipment, and the like. When the channel tuning operation of the television receiver or the like is performed by using the remote controller, a user selects and presses a numeric key provided on the remote controller. By this operation, a remote control signal allocated to each numeric key is transmitted from the remote controller to the television receiver. In the television receiver, channel tuning positions corresponding to the remote control signals are set in advance. In response to an infrared signal received from the remote controller, the broadcasting station channel is changed. This completes the channel tuning operation.
There is also a system that enables a remote controller to remotely operate various equipment by locating a plurality of input terminals in electronic equipment such as a television receiver or an AV (audio visual) amplifier, and connecting external equipment such as a recorder, a player, and a tuner to the input terminals. The remote controller used in this system can perform an equipment switching that enables the operations of not only the television receiver and the AV amplifier, but also external equipment connected thereto. When switching the operating equipment, a user firstly has to perform an input switching operation on the television receiver. For example, in a case where a first input terminal to a fourth input terminal are provided in the television receiver, the following association is made in advance on the television receiver side. That is, the first input terminal is associated with a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) recorder, the second input terminal is associated with a video tape recorder, and so on. When selecting the connected external equipment, the input of the television receiver is changed. The above-mentioned remote controller is provided with operation switching keys for selecting equipment to be operated such as the television receiver, the DVD recorder, and an AV amplifier. After changing the input of the television receiver, the user manipulates the operation switching keys of the remote controller so as to change a control mode of the remote controller, allowing the desired equipment to be manipulated.
Here, it is assumed that a user switches from the viewing of a ground wave analog broadcasting to the operation of DVD playback using the DVD recorder. Firstly, the user performs the operation for changing into the input of the DVD recorder connected to the television receiver, and then selects the operation switching key for the DVD recorder in the remote controller. As a result, a remote control signal corresponding to the DVD operation is transmitted by infrared from the remote controller to the television receiver. This enables the user to perform the operations of record, play, stop, and the like of the DVD recorder.
Japanese Patent Application Publication (KOKAI) No. Hei-5-236366 (FIG. 1) describes a technique of outputting, from a remote controller, the operation codes of peripheral equipment connected to a television receiver.